Maccwar’s Potion Has Run Dry… Now What?

Greetings Dash28 Readers! By now all of you will have heard loads of rumors and half-truths, facts and factoids about the new Kings of War book. One of the more significant changes in the latest update is the removal of Maccwar’s Potion of the Caterpillar. (In exchange Jesse’s Boots have been updated to provide one turn of Pathfinder or Strider). Apparently, Maccwar was a busy, busy guy brewing his potion for almost every army across Pannithor. Since the Caterpillar potion was an auto-include in most armies, this will bring big changes to a lot of lists. So, let’s dig a little and explore what life will be like in a post-Maccwar’s world.

Why Is This a Good Thing?

The Internet community has a long track record of balanced and measured reactions to change, but this could be a pretty big hit to some army builds. Just in case some of you are looking at your current army and contemplating throwing all your heavy cavalry out with the trash, let me try to provide some perspective on why this is a good change for the game as a whole.

First off, it could be argued that any item that is an auto-include in most lists is just too powerful, at any price. In most of my games I can look at my opponent’s units and know, without looking at their list, which two units have Maccwar’s and J-Boots. Those two items essentially remove one of the most important factors in a game: terrain.

Now, I know that I’m a little biased on this topic. I play in the Northeast US, which is notorious for our big terrain pieces. I also play a defensive army that doesn’t do a lot of alpha strike. However, I also believe that terrain should have a noticeable effect on the battle. Having to take terrain into account when you deploy and move your army is an important tactical aspect of the game that adds a layer of depth and encourages smart play and thinking a few turns ahead. A player should be rewarded for placing their units in such a way that forces their opponent into bad charges. These two magic items allowed players to just ignore terrain entirely and YOLO across the board with their units. I would contend that this just dumbs down the game and leads to lazy play. (Leave all your counterarguments about how alpha strike is the height of tactics in the comments section below.)

What Ripple Effects Will It Have?

Now whether you agree with my point of view or not, this is happening. Maccwar has put away his potion bottles and his magical still and is retiring to a seaside spot on the Golden Horn. This is the proverbial elephant (or giant caterpillar) in the room. This one change will definitely affect a lot of people’s armies. So, what are the long-term effects on the game when an auto-include item is removed? Essentially, where do we go from here?

First off, we may have lost Maccwar’s, but we still have the J-Boots, right? …right? The revised J-Boots did see a minor improvement in the latest updates, in that they now give both Pathfinder AND Strider for one turn. You can use the Boots to charge your favorite alpha-strike unit into combat, or you can move that unit through terrain with no penalty, but you can’t do both in the same game. For most players who are used the existing Boots, this shouldn’t be a problem. This will force players to make decisions in game, which I appreciate from a gameplay perspective. So, you can still hit ‘em hard when it counts; you just have to work a little to set the charge up.

Second, you may see a shift away from certain unit types that relied on that access to Pathfinder. This includes units with giant footprints, like chariot legions or hordes of infantry (or cavalry). Hordes of Heavy Infantry are unwieldy enough. Now, without easy access to Pathfinder, hordes of Greatax may have trouble getting into combat by turn 5, depending on the amount of terrain on the table.

You may see people shy away from heavy cavalry as well. These units usually rely on their Thunderous Charge to shock their target and break them in one go. If their targets can now hang out in woods or difficult terrain, players may think twice before tossing their heavy cavalry in to route them out. (As an aside, this is historically accurate. One of the main ways that medieval infantry defended themselves from the shock of a cavalry charge was to deploy in rough terrain or anchor their flanks to forests.) I think that may be the reason we also see a widescale reduction in the cost of cavalry in the newest changes.

Conversely, if Maccwar’s is gone, then armies with existing access to Pathfinder are better by comparison. We may see a shift toward more Green Lady, Herd, Free Dwarves, and Forces of Nature (though Greater Air Elementals were doing that anyway). Elemental units in other armies like Elves and Dwarves will probably be seen more often as well. In this instance there is a trade-off between the innate Pathfinder that these units bring and the fact that most of them are Shambling, and therefore slower. Either way, we may see a more pronounced shake-up in the army lists we typically see.

What Can You Do to Mitigate the Loss?

Is this the death of alpha strike? What about my favorite cavalry unit? And won’t someone please think of the Moreax!!! So if you’re hooked on that sweet, sweet Caterpillar Potion, where else will you get your fix? Well, let’s see what options we have.

To start, there’s nothing stopping a player from putting the J-Boots on a unit of cavalry, and I would heartily suggest you do. They’re one use only, but as long as you time it right, that one use can be devastating. And with their increased flexibility, you could burn them to march through a wood and get into position for a devastating charge the following turn.

Speaking of magic items, there are other options still available that mitigate some of the effects of terrain. Hindered charges come with a -1 to hit penalty and reduction in Thunderous Charge. Items such as the Brew of Strength (+1 Crushing Strength) or the Brew of Sharpness (+1 to hit in melee) will defray some of the effects of terrain and still give a big bonus if you happen to charge in the open. Sure, these are more expensive, but you weren’t doing anything with those extra points anyway. Certain spells, such as Bane Chant, can also mitigate the -1 to hit with an extra +1 to damage.

Another option is use individuals to your advantage. There are times when you can place a friendly individual at the edge of difficult terrain, thereby forcing (or allowing) one of your units to stay out of terrain when they charge.

Lastly, short of just speed painting a bunch of Air Elementals, the last option is to practice playing without the item. I know, it’s crazy, but hear me out. I spent most of this article dissecting the effects of just a single change (and yes, it’s a major change) on the game, but it’s one of a bunch of changes that will subtly shift the way the game is played for the next year, if not longer. I’m looking forward to seeing what the coming year will bring. Now I just need to deal with the side effects from Caterpillar Potion withdrawal.